


thinking about you

by downtothewire



Category: Marvel, Runaways (TV 2017)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-02
Updated: 2018-08-02
Packaged: 2019-06-20 16:00:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,985
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15537819
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/downtothewire/pseuds/downtothewire
Summary: A short fluff piece about Karolina and Nico in high school AUOr Karolina fits all the perfect all-american girl stereotypes, except for one: straight, and she’s been crushing on Nico for a really long time now.





	thinking about you

Coming out hadn’t been easy for Karolina. The church girl, the popular girl, the prom queen, the cheerleader. Karolina fit every stereotype of the all american girl except one: straight. So when she came out a year ago she watched all of it fall apart. Losing friends she believed she was close to was hard, but ultimately necessary. If they were going to drop her for this, she would be better off without them anyway.

This all changed when she found out about her school’s Gender Sexuality Alliance. It was first brought up to her by Gert - then a complete stranger, now a best friend. She found a community and a home with like minded people. Slowly she reverted back to her old happy self, but now she was better, freer, open. It took her a while, she went through phases before she settled on what felt true to herself. She stuck to cheerleading, she had always enjoyed it, and she even found her peace with God. She wasn’t best friends with the people from before, but she didn’t hate them - she pitied a bit even. So, everything was going just right in Karolina’s life. Until one day, one GSA meeting, Nico walked in.

Saying Karolina had noticed Nico around school might be the understatement of the century. Karolina had basically been obsessed with the girl ever since she first tapped her shoulder in 7th grade to tell her she dropped her pen. That was the first time she remembers blushing, her shoulder burning where Nico had touched her. Karolina’s obsession was so obvious that Gert elbowed her sides when she walked in. Karolina turned to her and glared.

She needed to maintain her composure. Nico could very well be an ally. Karolina knew the importance of allies. She couldn’t be so quick to make assumptions about Nico. Though her body was currently disagreeing with her logic as her eyes focused on the girl and her fingernails pressed into her palms hoping, praying, wishing that by some miracle: Nico was into girls. 

They had talked a couple of times at parties and in class. Karolina always felt that there was flirting. Accidental touches, easy smiles, and blushing. There was even one time she felt they were about to kiss, if it wasn’t for Gert interrupting. She hasn’t forgiven her since. But what if Nico was just friendly? What if she read the signs wrong? She couldn’t risk it.

The meeting came and went and Nico didn’t say anything. Karolina kept looking at her hoping she would, but she just listened. She kept to herself, tapped her nails on the table, and bounced her leg. She was nervous, Karolina could tell, she had been the same way when she first came into the meetings. But that still wasn’t confirmation. She had after all seen Nico walk down the halls with her ex-boyfriend, Alex. And though Gert will tell people she threw a celebration party when they broke up, that’s not true.

It took 5 meeting for Karolina to muster up the courage to talk to Nico. It was on a day she was feeling particularly good about herself - she liked her outfit, school hadn’t been bad, they had reasonable vegan food in the cafeteria, and her hair was at that peak stage of the day after you washed it. There really wasn’t a better time, she decided. So, she places herself in front of Nico who was leaving with her head down, effectively scaring the shorter girl. Nico looks up at her wide eyed, which could only be told from up close because of the heavy make up around them.

“Oh! I’m sorry!” Karolina readily apologizes, scolding herself for already messing this up.

“It’s fine,” Nico dismisses. Her momentary emotion already masked.

“How are you, by the way?”

“I’m fine and you?”

“Fine, fine... so, how are you finding the weather?”

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Karolina blushes, unprepared to say anything else. That is all she has, the weather. She is really going to have a hard time with this. She thought she had gotten good with the whole flirting thing over the past year.

“Oh, okay,” Karolina finishes with a nervous laugh.

“Anything you want?” Nico asks, her eyebrow raised.

‘You’ Karolina’s instincts tell her to say, but she settles on a hastily, “Did you write down the history homework?”

Nico looks a bit shocked at her question, like she was expecting something else, “Um, yeah. Here, give me your notebook and I’ll write it down for you, so, you don’t forget.” 

Karolina reaches inside her bag for her notebook and hands it to Nico. Nico places it on the table and writes down on the header of the first clean page what the homework was. She hands Karolina back her notebook, but when Karolina reaches for it, Nico takes it back. She looks at her confused.

“I forgot to write the second part of it,” Nico explains.

“There’s a second part? That’s going to take forever to do and I already have so much homework for my other classes,” Karolina rants. She groans, her head thrown back, and her eyes shut - opening when she hears the sound of her notebook closing. Nico hands her the notebook, and Karolina notices she can no longer meet her eyes.

Confused, Karolina doesn’t answer when Nico says, “Okay, I’ll see you around,” and hurriedly leaves the room.

Later that night, when Karolina opens her notebook, surrounded by books and her tea, she understands why Nico could no longer look at her. Underneath her homework, in clear neat handwriting, is a phone number followed by ‘if you forget any more homework’.

Is it possible to be attracted to someone’s handwriting? Because if so Karolina is right now. She feels her heartbeat speed up and her hands start to get clammy. She has Nico’s phone number, or at least what she thinks is Nico’s phone number. Is the girl flirting with her? And then it dawns on her: oh God, she has Nico’s phone number. What is she supposed to do with it? She can’t just text her! What kind of cruel prank is this? Nico clearly can’t be interested in her, can she?

Before she knows it, Karolina is spiraling. She calls Gert 4 times before the girl finally answers, her voice riddled with sleep. When Karolina explains the situation, she tells her to ‘just text her and leave [her] alone’. That didn’t help. Text her what? Karolina wonders. And as she spends the night in a anxious frenzy, she doesn’t even text Nico.

She wakes up, her head on her desk, clearly having slept there. Oh no, she didn’t text her. Now Nico will think she’s not interested. But she is VERY interested. She needs to just text the girl. She breathes in and does, texting the first thing that comes to mind:

-Hey. It’s Karolina. What was the bio homework?

Immediately, Karolina sees three dots appear on her screen and then they disappear as fast as she saw them. Her heart drops to her stomach, and she feels slightly nauseous. Maybe she should just not go to school today. Knowing her parents and that she’s being dramatic, she decides that’s not an option. So, soon she’s in her car on the way to school when she hears her text tone.

Hopeful to see what it is, she stops the car on the side of the road and looks at her phone. A message from her carrier about her data running low. This was shaping up to be a terrible day, she decides, driving off. When she’s halfway to school, she hears the phone again, but this time doesn’t stop. She’d only be getting her hopes up. She soon forgets about it entirely and just pockets her phone.

The day proceeds and it’s not what Karolina was hoping for, but it isn’t bad. Until lunch time when while sitting at the table talking to Molly, Karolina feels a familiar tap on her shoulder. She turns to see Nico looking down at her not looking pleased.

“Can I talk to you?” She asks.

“Um, yeah, sure,” Karolina stutters. The only thing shaking more than her voice are her hands. Molly looks at her amused, ready to tease Karolina later about the entire situation as Karolina follows Nico out of the cafeteria.

Nico settles on a spot on the lawn against a tree. Karolina stands still, looking at the girl nervously. Nico looks to the spot beside her and then Karolina, and she takes it as her queue to sit down.

“So, what did you want to talk about?”

“Did I read the signs wrong?” Nico asks, her voice vulnerable.

“What?”

“Like I caught you looking at me and then blushing and looking away and I feel like we flirt sometimes at parties and your friend, Gert, all but told me to ask you out—“

“She did what?!”

“Not important. Something about you forgiving her for something,” she dismisses, “Then I pluck up the courage and give you my phone number, but you don’t text me the whole day, and then when you do it’s about homework again, and when I answer, you don’t answer.”

Karolina grabs her phone and on her home screen there plain as day is Nico’s answer: ‘We have different bio classes. Anything else I can help you with?’

“Anyway, I’m new at this,” Nico continues, “And I want to know if I’m doing this wrong, because I thought I was doing pretty good.”

Karolina, still dazed, looking at her phone, answers: “Huh?”

“Okay. I read this wrong... this is embarrassing. I’ll just go...” Nico finishes. She stands up and walks away.

Still needing a minute to catch up to everything that has happened, Karolina doesn’t react at first. Then she jolts up and runs after the girl.

“Nico!”

Nico doesn’t answer, so, Karolina speeds up her pace to reach her, “I’m sorry,” she says when she reaches her.

Nico keeps walking and looking straight ahead, “It’s fine. You don’t have to apologize. You don’t have to be into me.”

“No, no, no, I am!” Karolina tries, at this point past the point of caring if she looks desperate.

Nico finally stops walking, “You don’t have to try and make me feel better about myself.” 

Karolina knows she is half still worried, and half fishing for a compliment. She decides on a way to assure her on both ends: “I’m not. You’re really pretty, Nico.”

“I am?” Karolina nods frankly, “Well, thanks. You’re not so bad yourself.”

Then Nico just starts walking again. Noticing the amount of fun that Nico is having right now as she chases her, Karolina indulges her, “Will you go out with me? Saturday?”

“I don’t know.” 

“Do I have to beg?”

“It wouldn’t hurt,” Nico shrugs.

Karolina grabs her hands and drags her towards the closest secluded wall. Nico leans against it and Karolina places both arms on either side of her head.

“Is it okay if I kiss you?”

Nico nods softly.

Karolina takes the opportunity to lean in. It was supposed to be a peck, just a small token of what Karolina felt for the girl. A taste of what she’d been holding back all those times they flirted. But once their lips touch, a spark flies, and neither can control themselves. Their lips start moving like liquid against each other and soon their tongues do too. Karolina’s hands move from beside Nico’s head to her waist. They rest on the small sliver of skin that Nico’s shirt affords her. 

She pulls back, her forehead against Nico’s, her eyes closed, and her breathing labored. “Please,” she whispers.

Instead of answering, Nico just leaves her there and enters the building. Karolina only has a moment to be confused before she hears her text tone.

‘Pick me up at 8’.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys,
> 
> I’m so sorry I’ve been gone for so long. I was traveling and then when I got back home I had so much to resolve for this course I’m starting in the fall at college. 
> 
> But I thought I’d write this as an apology and a way to tell you that I haven’t given up on any of the other stories. Just had to get my life in order before I could get back to them.
> 
> I wrote this quickly on my phone in a spark of lowball creativity, so, I’m sorry for any structural or gramatic mistakes, but I hope you still enjoy it. Hope we can still be buds, even though I’ve been terrible.
> 
> Much love and see you soon.
> 
> PS: I also did not know how to title this. So, if anyone has any better ideas, let me know.


End file.
